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Another shopgoodwill special...


Dash_Starkiller

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A couple of weeks ago they had a Kel Kroyden on that site which I bid on but got sniped bad. A month or so before that they put a Carl Holzapfel six string up for bid whch I also bid n and lost. In the past I have seen NYC-made Guilds and a Kalamazoo-made Gibson violin (not the import). I had seen this one and was thinking of bidding as it looks like I could do at least some of the work myself. Folks, however, bid crazy money on that site and I would be surprised if it stays below $600.

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A couple of weeks ago they had a Kel Kroyden on that site which I bid on but got sniped bad. A month or so before that they put a Carl Holzapfel six string up for bid whch I also bid n and lost. In the past I have seen NYC-made Guilds and a Kalamazoo-made Gibson violin (not the import). I had seen this one and was thinking of bidding as it looks like I could do at least some of the work myself. Folks, however, bid crazy money on that site and I would be surprised if it stays below $600.

 

Yea I’ve seen a 60s j160e on there once. Very interesting. But you’re probably right the bidding will get a bit crazy. But other than the terrible glue job and missing appointments it doesn’t look all that bad.

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It went for $758. Not bad! Hope whoever packs it and ships it does a good job.

 

I just wonder if that is a “deal” or not haha. I mean say everything about it is structurally sound, you gotta get tuners, have a new bridge made then I guess you can play as is. Hmm might be worth it!

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For education's sake - what would you inspect to confirm structural soundness?

 

My figurative checklist includes:

  • confirm the top / back are flat,
  • inspect for cracks
  • braces are all present and secure,
  • check the neck joint (not sure what i'm specifically looking for?)
  • and how straight the neck is... truss rod functionality

 

So realistically, if all that checked out on this guitar, then a bridge, nut, and tuners isn't too bad, my guestimate would be another $400 or so unless something else came up on the inspection. Total of $1150 or so - not too bad for a circa '50s Gibson... or at least the important parts of a Gibson to get that 'sound'.

 

Anyone want to weigh in on my estimate (point out how obviously naive i am ;), and anything else that should be on the checklist?

 

Rgds - billroy

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For education's sake - what would you inspect to confirm structural soundness?

 

My figurative checklist includes:

  • confirm the top / back are flat,
  • inspect for cracks
  • braces are all present and secure,
  • check the neck joint (not sure what i'm specifically looking for?)
  • and how straight the neck is... truss rod functionality

 

So realistically, if all that checked out on this guitar, then a bridge, nut, and tuners isn't too bad, my guestimate would be another $400 or so unless something else came up on the inspection. Total of $1150 or so - not too bad for a circa '50s Gibson... or at least the important parts of a Gibson to get that 'sound'.

 

Anyone want to weigh in on my estimate (point out how obviously naive i am ;), and anything else that should be on the checklist?

 

Rgds - billroy

Being a Gibson, hopefully the top and back are not flat or caved in. They are built with a slight arch.

Having a truss rod, hopefully the neck should be able to be straightened but with no bridge, I would put a straight edge on the frets and check the height at the bridge area to check the neck angle.

Is fretboard rutted?

Are frets shot?

If I was having the work done and all was sound

tuners, nut, bridge, pins, strings, trc I would estimate about $250

Refret, plane fretboard and reset neck $400

Refinish body and neck $350

So If all went well, i would have about $1800 into a guitar worth about $1800-$2400

If you can do the work yourself, you’ll save a lot.

If you don’t know someone, you could pay more or wind up with a botched job.

Just my opinion.

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Being a Gibson, hopefully the top and back are not flat or caved in. They are built with a slight arch.

Having a truss rod, hopefully the neck should be able to be straightened but with no bridge, I would put a straight edge on the frets and check the height at the bridge area to check the neck angle.

Is fretboard rutted?

Are frets shot?

If I was having the work done and all was sound

tuners, nut, bridge, pins, strings, trc I would estimate about $250

Refret, plane fretboard and reset neck $400

Refinish body and neck $350

So If all went well, i would have about $1800 into a guitar worth about $1800-$2400

If you can do the work yourself, you’ll save a lot.

If you don’t know someone, you could pay more or wind up with a botched job.

Just my opinion.

 

 

Thank you - I appreciate the input. The big things I missed was the potential refret and planing of the fretboard, and refinish of the guitar. I guess there's no way around the fret stuff, but is there a structural reason to refinish the guitar (i.e it will weather better) or is that a purely cosmetic effort?

 

Rgds again - billroy

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Thank you - I appreciate the input. The big things I missed was the potential refret and planing of the fretboard, and refinish of the guitar. I guess there's no way around the fret stuff, but is there a structural reason to refinish the guitar (i.e it will weather better) or is that a purely cosmetic effort?

 

Rgds again - billroy

 

Well, you're not going to leave it in bare wood, are you? A finish protects the wood from physical damage and uv damage. A finish helps stabilize the guitar with changes in temperature and humidity, as well. The body woods of your guitar are roughly 1/8" thick. If both sides are unfinished, it will absorb (and give up) atmospheric humidity at a much greater rate.

 

That one is completely stripped, except for the headstock face.

 

 

Is there a reason your house or car is painted? Once again, the finish is there in large part to protect the underlying material.

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Well, you're not going to leave it in bare wood, are you? A finish protects the wood from physical damage and uv damage. A finish helps stabilize the guitar with changes in temperature and humidity, as well. The body woods of your guitar are roughly 1/8" thick. If both sides are unfinished, it will absorb (and give up) atmospheric humidity at a much greater rate.

 

That one is completely stripped, except for the headstock face.

 

 

Is there a reason your house or car is painted? Once again, the finish is there in large part to protect the underlying material.

 

Very good points. Thank you. Put into perspective, unless you can do the majority of the work yourself it might get into the realm of biting off more than you can chew.

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Very good points. Thank you. Put into perspective, unless you can do the majority of the work yourself it might get into the realm of biting off more than you can chew.

 

That may be the case, but it sounds like paying to bring this one back to life anyways will cost somewhere in the same range something of equivalent quality would have, so it's not a cost savings, but also not a large sink hole - and it's something you could do in an 'installment plan' type timeframe, (getting the guitar and restoring later). and maybe more so you would end up with a guitar you had a hand in bringing back to life. That's whatever it's worth to you - not sure, it might be something for me.

 

J45N - thx for input on the reason / need for finish, guess I should get the house painted

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